The Globe Collector selected for St Kilda and Sheffield Doc/Fest

14 May, 2012 by
Paul Bugeja

Director Summer DeRoche’s short documentary The Globe Collector is one of three Australian films that have gained selection in the UK Sheffield Doc/Fest, the June 13-17 event headed by former Australian International Documentary Conference director Heather Croall.

The other two films are director Catherine Scott's Scarlett Road, about sex worker Rachel Wotton and her work with clients who have a disability, and Amy Gebhart's We Were Here, which was created using "donated" footage as part of a Screen Australia/YouTube experiment in communal filmmaking.

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A portrait of one man’s lonely quest to protect a part of technological history being fast forgotten, The Globe Collector showcases the weird and wonderful world of Andrew Pullen, who holds over 10,000 globes in one of the largest private collections. Pullen also happens to have Aspergers Sydnrome, something the film sets out to prove is merely a label for a man who has such an all-consuming passion for electronics.

A debut film for DeRoche and producer Andrea DiStefano, who met while studying for the Bachelor of Film and TV at Swinburne University, The Globe Collector is a self-funded seven-minute documentary.

Completed in January 2012, the pair submitted the film to Tropfest but it was not selected. Undeterred, DeRoche and DiStefano focused their attention on other festivals, leading to a world premiere at the St Kilda Festival and, now, an upcoming international premiere at Sheffield.

DeRoche, whose father is veteran screenwriter Everett DeRoche, is fast gaining recognition for her quirky and unique comedic style. Distefano is an emerging producer who worked as associate producer on the feature film Bran Nue Dae and as post-production supervisor on the feature documentary Murundak – Songs of Freedom. Both will travel to Sheffield with the support of Screen Australia.